


Now That He's Gone

by goldenrazzmatazz



Series: Pre-Endgame [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Banner-centric, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Platonic Relationships, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 08:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18735811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenrazzmatazz/pseuds/goldenrazzmatazz
Summary: Before the snap, you were Tony Stark's trusted confidant. His best friend, the head researcher at Stark Industries, and his unofficial Psychologist. Now, he is gone and you're the only Stark employee left when the Avengers come to the compound to figure out how to defeat Thanos. Angered by the way they treated your former boss following the Sokovia accords, tensions rise, until a certain Doctor tried to make amends.SPOILE WARNING: This takes place between Infinity War and Endgame. There are light spoilers for Endgame, but if you've seen any trailer/the Captain Marvel post-credit scene, you will be fine.





	Now That He's Gone

_You had been standing beside the entrance of the building, Starbucks in hand, when it happened. Behind you, a loud bang erupted as a freight truck carrying over fifteen thousand dollars worth of product collided into the side of the gate._

_"Joseph!" You called to the driver, sprinting across the grass to the entrance of the bay, "Are you okay?"_

_Your feet echoed across the pavement as you looked around. You could have sworn that your team of researchers had been in the warehouse a second ago, but you couldn't see them now._

_"Joseph!"  You called again._

_As you approached the side of the truck, you froze. The doors were still shut, but you couldn't see the driver through the window. In fact, there wasn't anyone inside the truck at all._

Three weeks ago, the world had changed. As a researcher for Stark Industries, one of the few given clearance by Mr Stark to facilitate research inside the Avengers compound itself, you had dedicated your life to understanding the world around you, especially space exploration. It wasn't your primary field of study, you had been trained in Clinical Neuropsychology, and initially hired by Mr Stark to help develop and further explore how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder could be mediated using a variety of therapeutic techniques. After a few years, you'd managed to impress Mr Stark, and he'd given you more responsibilities.

You knew Mr Stark fairly well, enough to call him a close friend. He had helped you get back on your feet following a difficult divorce, hiring you with very little experience. He had promoted you to chief researcher, although you didn't have much background knowledge on the various projects that he was running, he trusted you enough to oversee those who did. 

Despite the numerous ethical implications of treating your boss and friend, you had even helped him deal with the trauma of the Battle of New York and his feelings of betrayal following the fallout of Sokovia Accords. There was nothing intimate between the two of you, you were extremely fond of Ms Potts and secretly made it your goal to become a bridesmaid at the wedding. 

Except Tony was most likely dead.

 

Three weeks ago he had vanished, and with him, fifty percent of the population of earth. You had met with Ms Potts as well, she had come to you once she had realized that Tony had entered the spaceship, looking for your advice. Unfortunately, there wasn't much you could give. Without seeing Tony, you wouldn't know how badly the journey would trigger him. Additionally, you didn't mention this to Ms Potts, but the chances of his survival were unlikely. You didn't know much about Space Exploration, but the research in which you had access demonstrated the sheer vastness of the universe.

Following The Snap, you gave all of your remaining employees a week to go home. There wasn't a single individual on staff who hadn't lost a loved one, in some cases, multiple loved ones, and you wanted to give them the chance to grieve. Not that you weren't grieving yourself, you were in agony over the tremendous losses you had faced. Every person you tried to contact, your parents and your friends, had disappeared. However, you had a job to do, you had to help the remaining Avengers gain enough Intell to go and fight Thanos a second time. 

You were wondering how you'd be able to face the team without fighting them when your thoughts were interrupted. 

"When was the last time you ate?"

You turned and looked at the source of the voice, raising an eyebrow. It was Dr Bruce Banner, a man who you had admired all throughout school for her intellect, but now had a twist of resentment due to his decision to abandon the rest of the team.

You didn't dislike Bruce as much as the other Avengers. He was quiet, reserved. He didn't have the same level of self-righteousness that oozed from Captain Rogers, and he wasn't aggressive in conversation like Romanoff. You could understand why, given your knowledge on his powers and how he acquired them. There was a level of maturity, he had seen some shit, and it had humbled him. 

Better still, he hadn't even been on Earth since before the Accords had been written.

"Eating won't bring anyone back, will they?"  You knew even as you said it that your words were bullshit. You were a Doctor, you knew the importance of rest, and in yourself you could identify a dangerous obsession, but still you glared at Dr Banner.

"No, but you won't be any use to anyone if you're dead, (Y/N)."

"Right. I'll just sit on my ass like everyone else around here. That'll make things better."

"We're not sitting on our asses." 

"Really? You're not?" You turned to face the Doctor, and climbed off your chair, "You might not have been, Dr Banner, but the rest of your team were. For years."

"What are you talking about?" 

Your upper lip was shaking, and you sucked your lip into your mouth to stop it. You shouldn't have said anything, but seeing The Avengers, especially Captain America, stroll into the building on their high horses like they hadn't destroyed your best friend hurt. Tony had told you about Bucky's hand in his father's death in confidence, but it still shook you to your core.

"Nothing, I shouldn't have said anything." 

"(Y/N)." Bruce reached for your shoulder, but stopped before he made contact with your skin. "Tell me what's going on."

You shook your head, refusing to make eye contact, "I promised Tony I wouldn't,"

The man sighed, nodding. 

"You're loyal. I get that. But we need all the information that we can get in order to stop Thanos, reverse this. We have a shot, (Y/N) and if you just-"

"If I just what?" You growled, arching an eyebrow, "Let you access our research? Let you read the defence plans that could have prevented this if the rest of the Power Rangers had just worked with Tony?"

Bruce gasped, surprised to hear the anger in your words.

"You stroll in here, Dr Banner, without a clue about what has happened. Without a clue of the pain that your friends caused. They walk in here like their shit doesn't stink, expecting acceptance?" With every step you got closer to the doctor, and you were practically screaming in his face. 

"(Y/N)." He repeated again, hands hovering over your skin. You could tell he wanted you to back away, and the sensible part of yourself knew that you shouldn't be antagonizing The Hulk, but all of the pain of the three weeks were bubbling to the surface.

"Do you know what they did?" Your voice cracked, "Your precious Captain America? He beat almost beat Tony to death. To protect a stupid assassin. That's why the Avengers broke up. That's why he wasn't there sooner."

"Like the Beatles." Bruce whispered, but you weren't paying attention. Your tears had started to spill over, and you were turning away from him. 

"So if I don't feel like sharing a meal with the group of people that ruined my best friend, sue me."

You took one last glance at Bruce's face, his mouth had parted into a small gasp, before you stormed into the hallway.

~

After the blowout with Bruce, you needed time to breathe. With the sudden influx of people in the compound, you couldn't go to your usual spots to destress-mainly the library and training grounds- and were forced to improvise. That's why you were lying in the grass about two hundred yards away from the building, dew that had collected on the grass moistening your t-shirt.  

You had been stargazing, and with every light in the sky you wondered if it was another spaceship, coming to kill the rest of the puny humans left on earth.

The same voice from earlier penetrated your thoughts.

"It's just as beautiful to see them up close. Almost equally as terrifying."

You looked up at the Doctor, who was about ten feet away from you, looking up at the stars.

"I feel so useless." You whispered, quiet enough you didn't think that he had even heard you.

Bruce was looking at the stars, and suddenly looked back down at your form. In the dim light, he looked younger. You couldn't see a trace of the destruction machine that the world often feared.

"I didn't mean to run away." He replied, and you knew that your words had been carried away with the wind.

"No?"

You knew what he was referring to. He had disappeared on Sokovia, before the Avengers had collapsed. With all of the trauma that had occurred in the past month, you wondered if he had told anyone what had happened.

"I was trying to protect the rest of the team from the Hulk. I didn't want them to have to deal with the burden any longer."

You weren't his therapist, you didn't have to deal with his problems. Although, you were curious about the man. While multiple personalities were hardly as dramatic as television made them out to be, Bruce Banner was a man who had to share his body, and maybe even his consciousness, with a monster. It was the closest you've ever seen to a true case of the phenomenon.

You didn't answer, and Banner shifted uncomfortably. During your practice, you'd learned that sometimes the best way to get someone to talk was to refuse to reply. You didn't want to appear eager to hear about his suffering, but you also didn't want to dissuade him from talking to you.

"You know, when I first joined the team, Tony was the only one who wasn't afraid of me," He sat down where he had been standing, and you felt a small wave of irritation. This was your resting spot, not his. "Steve was too scared to try to talk to me. Natasha put on a brave face, but before she even met me she had planned how she would kill me." 

You kept your face neutral, not giving away the shock you felt at how casually he shared the information trash talking his teammates.

"Tony on the other hand, kept zapping me with a taser to see if I'd flinch."

A laugh bubbled up from inside you, and you giggled.

"He has a way of making people feel comfortable. Like they belong to the team." Bruce's voice cracked as he spoke, and you risked a glance. He was staring at you, tears spilling down his cheeks. "I don't have that ability, (Y/N), but I can do my best for you."


End file.
